Metro News
Upadated: 73 dead after fire engulfs apartment building in South Africa
A fire that engulfed a five-storey building taken over for illegal housing killed more than 70 people including children in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city’s emergency services said.
Another 52 were injured in what is on track to become one of the deadliest fires worldwide in recent years.
Bodies were discovered piled up at a security gate that was closed preventing people escaping the blaze, an official said.
City authorities said the building in a deprived crime-ridden area had been turned into illegal housing after being abandoned.
Most of those living there were foreigners, one resident said.
“We have now 73 fatalities and 52 people injured who were transported to various healthcare facilities for further medical care,” Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said.
At least seven children were among those killed by the flames, the youngest under two years old, he said. Some were left burned beyond recognition.
“I’m grateful to be alive, there was a lot of us running, trying to find the fire exit and a lot of people eventually died because of the smoke inhalation,” said Kenny Bupe, a survivor caught up in the blaze while visiting a friend.
The 28-year-old told AFP he was part of a group that managed to break open a locked fire escape gate and run to safety, while others “jumped out” of the windows to save themselves.
Firefighters at the scene have put out the flames and are “busy with damping down”, while search and recovery operations are ongoing, Mulaudzi said.
“We are moving floor by floor conducting these body recoveries,” he told local broadcaster ENCA.
An AFP reporter at the scene said emergency services were continuing to bring charred bodies out of the building, laying them down under blankets and sheets on the street outside.
“It is indeed a sad day for the city of Johannesburg… over 20 years in the service, I’ve never come across something like this,” Mulaudzi said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which broke out overnight.
Mgcini Tshwaku, a member of the city’s mayoral committee in charge of public safety, said candles used for lighting inside the structure were a likely cause.
– Security gate closed –
The building, which has been evacuated, is in what used to be the business district of South Africa’s economic hub and was used as an informal settlement, Mulaudzi said, suggesting many may have been squatting there illegally.
“Inside the building itself there was a (security) gate which was closed so people couldn’t get out,” said Tshwaku.
“Many burned bodies were found stashed at that gate.”
Fire trucks and ambulances were parked outside the red and white building with burned-out windows which has been cordoned off by police, as a small crowd of onlookers gathered.
Paramedics assisted survivors, some looking bruised and visibly in pain, as two women on a nearby street consoled each other as they cried.
“The scene this morning was a mess, there were bodies on the ground everywhere,” said Noma Mahlalela, 41, a resident, adding most people living at the premises were foreigners.
Authorities estimated more than “80 shacks” were set up inside.
“The fire spread very quickly affecting different levels of the building because of the combustible materials used,” said Mulaudzi.
Illegal occupation of disused buildings in Johannesburg’s city centre is widespread, with many said to be under the control of criminal syndicates who collect rent from occupants.
South Africa –- the continent’s most industrialised economy –- attracts millions of migrants, many undocumented, from other African nations.
The blaze was the deadliest in the country in recent years and one of the worst worldwide.
In December, a fuel tanker blast near Johannesburg killed 34 people, while in June, flames ripped through a dilapidated building in the city and killed two children under 10 who were locked in an apartment.
Speaking outside the premises, Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, sent his condolences to the victims’ families describing the incident as a “tragedy”.
All survivors are being cared for, regardless of their nationality, authorities said.
Television footage showed fire trucks and ambulances outside the red and white building with burned-out windows, which had been cordoned off by police.
Olubunmi Abodunde, the 48-year-old Nigerian man who murdered his wife, Taiwo, with a skateboard and blamed his loss of control on medication has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Kingdom.
The incident occurred in their Newmarket home, resulting in Taiwo’s death from catastrophic brain injuries in November 2023.
He, however, admitted to killing Taiwo, who suffered “catastrophic brain injuries”, the BBC reports.
The Ipswich Crown Court noted the intensity of the attack that led to her death at their Exning Road residence.
Abodunde faces a minimum of 17 years in prison before being considered for parole.
The court learned that the day before Taiwo’s death, there was a domestic incident resulting in Abodunde’s arrest.
He was under bail conditions prohibiting contact with his spouse.
The next morning, despite these conditions, Abodunde went to the family home to retrieve a mobile phone.
Taiwo, a mother of three, was returning home from her overnight shift as a health care assistant.
Prosecutor Stephen Spence KC told the court that Abodunde was aware of his wife’s shift pattern and CCTV showed she had arrived back at about 09:12.
The court was informed that two officers had attended the property at about 09:20 to speak with Mrs Abodunde about the previous day’s domestic incident.
Spence stated, “Only the defendant now knows what happened. The officers repeatedly knocked on the door and notified them of their presence but got no response or heard any calls for help.”
However, between 40 and 50 “thuds” were heard and it was believed to be Abodunde attacking his wife.
Officers were given clearance by senior police officials to enter the property at 09:45, the court was told.
Spe4nce added, “When they entered the front door, they immediately found the lifeless body of Mrs Abodunde with her skull smashed in.”
Meanwhile, a postmortem examination revealed that Taiwo had suffered “catastrophic brain injuries”.
Olubunmi-Abodunde and his-late wifeTaiwo
She also had injuries that were consistent with her body being “stamped on” as well as being hit with a skateboard.
This was found at the property covered in blood and fragments of skull.
The court was told the victim had also been strangled.
Meanwhile, the defendant could be heard sobbing from the dock as Spence addressed the court.
Police forced their way into the home after hearing bangs.
“It seems to me that he was waiting for confrontation. There is no debate that there was not going to be confrontation in my view,” he stated.
Akudolu said Abodunde “was a very well-respected man” both here in the UK and in Nigeria where the couple had previously moved from.
He had been a local councillor in Nigeria and had a local street in the country named after him.
The court heard the couple had a “history of frequent disputes over bills and money” with some “low-level violence” involved.
Akudolu told the court that “not a day will go by that [Abodunde] does not regret the misery” that he has caused.
In his ruling, Judge Levett described Taiwo’s killing as “ruthless, violent, savage and heartless”.
The couple’s home
Levett said Abodunde had lied to officers telling them his wife had attempted to attack him with a knife the day before he murdered her, adding that Abodunde also claimed she had tried to beat him, but no evidence was found to substantiate this, the court was told.
While Levett spoke, Abodunde could be seen from the dock with his head in his hands while sobbing.
The Judge added that there had been “no self-defence at all” on Abodunde’s part, saying he had heard “no remorse other than sobs from the dock”.
Following the murder, Suffolk Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact with the couple.
It said earlier this month, two officers were advised they were being investigated for gross misconduct over potential breaches of the standards of professional behaviour.
Another officer is under investigation for breaches amounting to misconduct.
An IOPC spokesman said, “This does not mean disciplinary proceedings will necessarily follow. Our investigation remains ongoing.” With BBC reports.
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